Joe Paterno's long careerFormer Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, 85, died on Jan. 22. A little more than a week after getting his record-setting 409th win, his storied, 46-year career underwent a stark revision -- tarnished by a child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State involving a former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

By Scott Boeck and Katharine Lackey, USA TODAY

Source: Penn State athletics

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Penn State board of regents fires Joe Paterno, president

By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.
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The Penn State sex abuse scandal took a stunning twist Wednesday night when Joe Paterno was told his 46-year tenure as the Nittany Lions head coach is over immediately — going against his plan to finish out the season.

By H. Darr Beiser,, USA TODAY

Rally for JoePa: Penn State students rally on Beaver Avenue in downtown State College to support Joe Paterno. The coach was fired Wednesday night by the university's board of trustees.

Rally for JoePa: Penn State students rally on Beaver Avenue in downtown State College to support Joe Paterno. The coach was fired Wednesday night by the university's board of trustees.

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The announcement was made at a hastily called news conference on campus by John Surma, vice chairman of the board of trustees. Surma also said that Graham Spanier is out as university president in an unanimous action.

The removal of the coaching icon was greeted with tears and gasps among about 300 students watching on television at the student center. Students spilled into the streets, some chanting, "We want Joe back!" A television truck was turned over and some lamp posts were pulled down.

"I hope everyone would agree that what we are doing is in the best interest" of the university, Surma said. Asked to define what the best interests mean, he said, "The current situation we are in at the moment is not in the university's best interest. We believe a change is necessary to allow us to continue going forward without further damage to the university. Great difficulties have engulfed our university. We need a change and a new direction."

Surma confirmed that Paterno, major college's winningest coach with 409 victories, was notified about the decision with a telephone call. He said the board could not have told him in person "without causing a greater distraction."

The decision came as a surprise because earlier Wednesday, Paterno had announced his retirement but said he wanted to remain as coach for what could be five more games this season. After the trustees' press conference, some students gathered in front of Paterno's house. He came to his door briefly, telling the crowd, "Right now I am not the coach. I have to get used to that." He then thanked them for coming. His wife Sue also came out and spoke briefly.

Later, Paterno, 84, issued a statement that said in part, "I am disappointed with the board of trustees' decision, but I have to accept it."

In another development Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education said it will investigate whether Penn State failed to report sexual abuse on campus in the case against former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Under the Clery Act, colleges and universities must disclose criminal offenses on campus each year.

"If these allegations of sexual abuse are true, then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse."

Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing eight children. Questions remain about how Paterno and his superiors handled at least one of the cases.

Nearly half of the 16 regional offices of the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating allegations of abuse that led to the arrest of Sandusky. Police have fielded streams of calls from the public.

Paterno's statement earlier announcing his retirement also addressed in more detail his feelings on the charges against his longtime friend and his own role in whether he should have gone to authorities with what he knew about the 2002 alleged incident.

"This is a tragedy," Paterno said. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

Athletics director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz had previously been arrested on charges of perjury and failing to report what they knew about alleged abuse. Curley has taken a leave of absence and Schultz has retired.

Though three top administrators are out and the reputation of a prestigious university is being impacted, the focus Wednesday on campus was Paterno. When the decision was announced just after 10 p.m., ET, the mood darkened. Students reacted by flooding into the streets. Huge crowds headed to Beaver Avenue, a main gathering place in town.

Sophomore running back Silas Redd tweeted, "headed downtown."

The streets became impassable. Students shook street lights and pulled some to the ground. Others pushed a television truck on its side. One student held a placard that said, "Joe forever."

Chants of "We want Joe," "We are Penn State" and "One more game" rang out as police in riot gear watched. Twitter posts asked students to calm down.

"I understand why students want to get together, but I don't know if taking to the streets is the best or most appropriate response," senior Kyle Lorenz, 21, said. "I agree that the student perspective should be recognized, but I don't necessarily think rioting is the right way to go about that."

Earlier Wednesday, on a bench outside the student union, junior journalism major Fernando Calderon read through multiple articles about the unfolding story. The night before, about 1,000 students had rallied in support of Paterno. A game Saturday against Nebraska approaches. But Calderon didn't think Paterno should be coaching it.

"I would have preferred that he would have resigned immediately," said Calderon, 20, from San Juan, Puerto Rico. "He had a responsibility. … He's a guy a lot of people view as someone that's not just a football coach and has always done the morally right thing."

Paterno, 84, had been the face of the university through much of a 46-year Hall of Fame career. He won, of course. He kept the Nittany Lions uniforms plain blue and white, and he kept the program's reputation clean — remarkably so for a program that made its home in the national rankings, produced five undefeated seasons and won national championships in 1982 and 1986.

Clouding that glittering résumé, however, is criticism that Paterno didn't do enough when he was told in March 2002 about one of the alleged instances of sexual abuse by Sandusky.

Paterno informed athletics director Tim Curley but didn't follow up when Curley, Spanier and others failed to go to police or child-protection authorities.

Outside Old Main, the administration building at the center of campus, senior Patrick Blain said of Paterno, "I'll always think of the guy as a great guy who gave back to the university, gave millions of dollars (to the school along with wife Sue), built a library here and made the brand name Penn State into what it is today, and gave so much to the community, as well."

Even those who made the decision to remove Paterno seemed shaken.

Board of trustees vice chairman John Surma said at a news conference, "The past several days have been absolutely terrible for Penn State University."